Nashville, Tenn. (December 27, 2023) – Nashville Predators General Manager Barry Trotz announced today that the team has recalled goaltender Yaroslav Askarov (AH-skahr-ahv) from Milwaukee (AHL).
Askarov, 21 (6/16/02), is 8-6-1 with a 2.45 goals-against average and .908 save percentage in 15 games for the Admirals this season. Entering Thursday, the 6-foot-3, 178-pound netminder has won four of his last five appearances and is 12th among qualified AHL goaltenders in goals-against average.
Originally drafted by the Predators in the first round (11th overall) of the 2020 NHL Draft, Askarov played in his first NHL game with Nashville on Jan. 12, 2023 at Montreal, becoming the youngest goaltender in franchise history to debut with the team (20 years, 210 days). He owns a career AHL record of 34-22-6, going 26-16-5 with a .911 save percentage as a rookie in 2022-23, earning a spot on the league’s All-Star Classic roster and finishing tied for third in wins (26).
Askarov was the third goaltender ever selected by the franchise in the opening round of the draft; the Omsk, Russia, native also became the sixth Russian-born goaltender to be selected in the first round in NHL history. As an 18-year-old in 2020-21, Askarov posted a 1.21 goals-against average and .951 save percentage in nine KHL appearances for SKA Saint Petersburg – leading league U-21 goaltenders in both categories – while recording a 5-4-0 record and one shutout. Askarov made history on Nov. 27, 2019 by making his KHL debut at the age of 17, becoming the second-youngest goalie to ever start a game in the league. He owned an 8-5-2 record, 1.48 goals-against average and .937 save percentage in 16 career KHL performances; at the VHL level, Russia’s second-highest professional league, he went 19-8-6 with a 2.42 goals-against average and .915 save percentage.
The right-catch goaltender has also starred internationally for his native Russia on several occasions, including at three editions of the World Junior Championship. He earned silver at the 2020 World Juniors and featured prominently in two of Russia's international tournaments in 2019, winning gold at the U-18 Hlinka Gretzky Cup and taking home silver at the U-18 World Championship.
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